This invention relates to a machine and method for extracting fence posts, drills or other elongate work piece from the ground or other medium in which they may be imbedded. Particularly, it relates to such a device which is adapted for attachment to and operation from the three point hitch of a farm tractor or similar machine.
Various devices have been previously disclosed which can be attached to a tractor or other machine and used to pull a fence post or drill or the like. Some of these are large and awkward and unsuitable for a relatively small tractor, others require that the operator of the tractor dismount and manipulate parts of the puller to engage it with the work piece or require a second person to perform this operation, some provide only limited engagement with the work piece and do not secure a sufficient grip to remove a work piece that is firmly imbedded and others use power operated grippers or other power appliances which make them large, cumbersome and expensive. Another objectionable feature of some of the prior art devices is that their gripping or pulling structure tends to impart rotational motion to the work piece being pulled. This makes it more difficult to pull the work piece and may bend or break it. In some cases when the work piece is pulled clear of the medium in which it is imbedded the rotational force applied may cause it to twist violently, potentially causing damage to the machine or injury to persons in the vicinity. The invention disclosed herein is designed to avoid all of these objectionable characteristics.